Originally Posted by wakked1
Tektro brakes are crap, at least the base ones are. Their lack of stopping ability is NOT the pads.. its the fact they flex like crazy. I can bottom out the lever easily when they're properly adjusted. Riding even a moderately steep downhill at slow speeds is scary. I replaced the front one with an Ultegra brake on my Raleigh Rush Hour, it make all the difference in the world (I kept the rear as its flexy/mushy nature is perfect for the rear).
That said, the SRAM Force brakes look almost identical to the cheap Tektros, so I suspect its due to the pot metal they used, not the design itself.
My Scott Speedster has a DA brake on the rear and a Tektro on the front. Both have DA pads and I can't tell the difference between the two. I've never tried anything but their road brakes. If I were to buy a set of brakes I probably wouldn't go looking for them, I just don't object to them if they're alread on the bike.